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Boulder County Bombers bumped from practice space

Roller Derby league struggles to prepare for international playoffs without a home

By Whitney Bryen

Times-Call community reporter

Posted:
07/26/2014 03:17:34 PM MDT

Updated:
07/28/2014 01:00:11 PM MDT

Annie Olmsted looks for an opening between other skaters during a Boulder County Bombers phase II roller derby practice on Friday at the St. Vrain Memorial building in Longmont. (Jeremy Papasso / Daily Camera)

Want to help?

The Boulder County Bombers are seeking an unobstructed space that will fit their track, at least 108 feet by 75 feet. Anyone with an available space can contact the league through its website bouldercountybombers.com.

The Boulder County Bombers roller derby All Stars team has qualified for international playoffs for the first time, but team members are struggling to stay focused on the tournament after losing their practice space in July.

The league, which was formed in 2011, had called a 10,000-square-foot warehouse at 455 Weaver Park Road in Longmont home since January 2013. But the league and its three teams had to vacate the Longmont space, nicknamed the Bomb Shelter, during the weekend of July 4, after they were unable to renew their month-to-month lease with property owner Tebo Properties.

The space is now being leased by High Altitude Archery, according to the company's Facebook page.

The league's board has been searching for a new space for nearly a month with no luck, said league Vice President Candice Bahnson.

"We just need a space that fits us and our track, and that availability isn't there right now," said Bahnson, whose derby name is Ida HIT dat.

The league is made up of three teams: the All Stars, the Bombshells and the ShrapNellies, all of which play against teams from other leagues. The Bombers also have a junior league and programs for skaters in training.

Practices for all of the teams have been less frequent since the league moved out, and the junior league has been put on hold until a new space is found.

League members said losing the space came at a terrible time, since the All Stars recently qualified for Division 2 playoffs in Canada from Aug. 22 to 24.

Qualifying for the tournament is a big accomplishment, said player Carly Daelli, whose derby name is Feist E One.

The tournament provides an international stage for the women to show off their talents and promote the league, she said, but Daelli is concerned that the team is distracted without a consistent practice space.

"It's an added stress with not knowing where we're going to be practicing," Daelli said. "It affects the mentality when we're getting ready, and now we have other things to worry about besides the tournament."

Since the league moved out of the Longmont warehouse, practices have been held weekly at the Wagon Wheel Skate Center in Brighton and the Slaughterhouse Derby Girls' practice space in Greeley, and a few times a week at the Memorial Building in Longmont.

The All Stars are not sure what they will do Aug. 11-15, the week before they leave for the tournament. That's when the Memorial Building is closed for its annual cleaning week, Daelli said.

"It's just bad timing," Daelli said.

Bahnson said they are grateful for the temporary practice spaces but that the long commutes and unreliable spaces make coordinating the already packed schedule more difficult.

"We have families and careers and we're trying to keep our schedules in check, and then adding extra commuting time to the mix just makes harder," Bahnson said. "Plus, we are the Boulder County Bombers, so we'd like to be in Boulder County."

The league is prepared to pay for a practice space, Bahnson said, and is seeking an unobstructed space that will fit their track, at least 108 feet by 75 feet.

Alyssa Schmit, left, and Nissa Bottomley gear up during a Boulder County Bombers phase II roller derby practice on Friday at the St. Vrain Memorial building in Longmont. (Jeremy Papasso / Daily Camera)

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